Page 67 of I'll Be the One

I think back to the awkward kimchi moment I had with Melinda and shudder.

“But you still protected her in the end,” I say.

“Well, yeah. She may be a jerk, but she didn’t deserve to be featured on TV like that. Anyway, you and I aren’t like that. I—”

Steve pushes open the door and yells in a very dad-like voice, “It’s time to come outside! You shouldn’t stay in one room for so long. It’s not good for you.”

On our way out, I glance at Henry, expecting him to finish speaking. But he doesn’t.

And because I’m too busy looking at him, I almost run into Tiffany and Lana, who are standing right next to the door. Lana giggles when she sees my lamb towel hat.

“Oh my gosh,” she says. “Skye, that lamb hat is so cute. Did you make it yourself?”

“No, Henry did.”

Her giggles intensify.

Even Tiffany looks like she’s trying hard not to smile. She wiggles her eyebrows at us.

“Lucky you two had some alone time, huh?”

I turn around to look at Henry, expecting him to look proud of himself. But he’s back to smiling that fake smile of his again.

“I can make one for you,” Tiffany says to Lana as we head to our next sauna room.

Lana beams and squeezes Tiffany’s hand almost imperceptibly. The small gesture makes me so happy and sad, all at once. Lana and Tiffany are such a cute couple, and it makes me sad that they can’t express their affection in Korean public places like a heterosexual couple can. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of PDA, but queer PDA happens so rarely that I wish it was more common.

Steve does his best to keep people away, but even then, it takes us a few minutes to find another empty sauna room. Now that the surprise factor of Henry’s presence has worn off, a lot of people have gone back to doing what they were doing before he arrived.

The second room we go into is covered with red clay bricks that feel pleasantly hot under my feet. As soon as we’re settled down on the mats inside, Tiffany starts making a towel hat for Lana. Lana giggles, and then sets her towel on the ground as well, and before I know what’s happening, they’re both making towel hats for each other.

“They’re so cute together,” I say. It’s only after the words leave my mouth that I remember who I’m talking to.

Oh shoot.Henry doesn’t know about Lana and Tiffany being a couple. Panic and fear fills my head, but he just nods and says, “Yeah.”

I glance at his face, looking for any signs of a negative reaction. He appears mostly amused, although there’s something else in his expression that I can’t place. Regret? Sadness? Whatever it is makes my heart ache, even though I have no idea what he’s thinking about.

“Can we get patbingsu after this?” Henry asks all of a sudden, completely throwing me off.

“What?”

“Patbingsu. Korean shaved ice.”

“Iknowwhat patbingsu is. I was just surprised. Wait, have you never had patbingsu, either?”

“Nope. I always see people in K-dramas get patbingsu at Korean spas, and I’ve wanted to try it too.”

That catches Tiffany’s and Lana’s attention. Tiffany groans.

“Is thereanythingthat you’ve tried before?” she asks.

“I’ve had overpriced French food,” Henry replies. “And some of the best pasta around. My family doesn’t really eat Korean food. And if they do, it’s always very traditional and extravagant jeong-sik. The really gourmet stuff that kings used to eat.”

“Rich-people problems,” Tiffany mutters, rolling her eyes.

“Tell me about it,” Henry groans.

“Let’s all share one big patbingsu!” exclaims Lana.

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